San Diego federal prosecutors have dropped a Medicare fraud case against Irvine, Calif.-based Proove Biosciences, a genetic testing company, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Jan. 12.
The case was dropped amid allegations of prosecution missteps and government misconduct.
The defense team alleged that prosecutors in the trial had seen dozens of attorney-client privileged documents, according to the publication. They also called attention to a 16-month delay in the recusal of an attorney who was working at the same office at the same time another attorney was representing the lead defendant in the case.
Prosecutors officially dismissed the case Dec. 21, the same day the team was expected to respond to the defense's allegations.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations began investigating Proove in 2017 and raided its headquarters the same year. A federal grand jury indicted Brian Meshkin, Proove CEO, and eight other individuals who worked for or with the company, on charges of defrauding Medicare and performing an illegal kickback scheme.
A former Proove employee who entered a plea deal worked with investigators and prosecutors. They alleged that the company paid physicians over $3.5 million to order its DNA tests, according to the publication.
Proove billed Medicare $45 million for testing and was paid $20 million, according to the plea agreement.